Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Dark Sun: Elemental Cleric

Clerics in the old Dark Sun® setting were quite peculiar. This was a setting without gods, so the designers substitute the worship of the gods with worship of the elemental planes—and of course worship of sorcerer-kings, but that's another class entirely.

Back then, the cleric spells were arranged in spheres, the grand grand fathers of today's domains, and elemental clerics had major access to their elemental sphere, and only minor access to the cosmos sphere. What does minor access means? Well... it means they only had access to 1st-3rd level spells. So no cure serious wounds, no heal, no raise dead and no resurrection! Dark Sun was a deadly gritty place to live in.

To reflect that lack of major healing magic, I'm thinking in removing some spells from the cleric list, and to compensate I'm giving more domain spells. If you don't want to remove spells from the basic cleric list, just give domain spells up to the 9th cleric level, just like in the PHB®.

Also to compensate this lack of healing, I'm giving the water cleric some healing powers, as they had in the Earth, Air, Fire and Water supplement.
In everything else I tried to emulate the existing divine domains. Let me know what you think about them.

Athasian Cleric

The cleric is a free-willed priest, tending the needs of the local people with his particular talents. On Athas, clerics draw their magical energy directly from one of the four elemental planes: earth, air, fire, or water; not from any manner of deity.

Class Features

You get all the class features from the Cleric class as presented in the PHB, unless noted otherwise.

Proficiencies

As presented in the PHB, but replace Religion skill for Nature.

Elemental Domain

The Divine Domain feature is renamed as Elemental Domain. The four elemental domains available to you are Earth, Air, Fire or Water. Each elemental domain is detailed at the end of the class description. Other than that, this feature works as presented in the PHB.

Elemental Spells

This Domain Spells feature is renamed as Elemental Spells. Extra spells are granted at 11th, 13th and 15th level because some of the cleric spells have been removed from the PHB list.
Other than that, this feature works as presented in the PHB.

Channel Energy

The Channel Divinity feature is renamed as Channel Energy. Other than that, this feature works as presented in the PHB.

Primordial Intervention

The Divine Intervention feature is renamed as Primordial Intervention. You call for the intervention of a powerful being of the element you worship, instead of a deity. Other than that, this feature works as presented in the PHB.

Elemental Domains

Clerics worship one of the four elemental planes: earth, air, fire, or water. They call upon magical energies from those planes, specializing in one element's magical applications on the prime material plane.

Earth Domain

Rock, sand, trees, silt: everything of earth is raw material for earth clerics. It is their duty to protect and preserve these, and they constantly strive to enrich and shield the harsh wastes of Athas.
Closely tied to nature, earth priests understand the true nature of the cycle of life. When something dies, its organic material is returned to the soil to provide life for another, and in another form. Therefore, the earth clerics outlook on life is a utilitarian one. The death of a comrade, though tragic, is simply one stage in natures endless chain of creation and annihilation.
Earth clerics must always be in opposition to defilers. They know that defiling magic lies beyond the normal boundary of the creation/annihilation chain—what defilers destroy never returns.

Earth Domain Spells

Cleric Level

Spells

1st

earth tremor*, goodberry

3rd

earthbind*, spike growth

5th

erupting earth*, meld into stone

7th

stone shape, stoneskin

9th

conjure elemental**, transmute rock*

11th

bones of the earth*

13th

reverse gravity

15th

earthquake

*This spells can be found in the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion.

**Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can summon only

earth elementals with it.

Bonus Proficiency

At 1st level you gain proficiency with heavy armor and bludgeoning weapons.

Bonus Cantrip

When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain the mold earth* cantrip if you don’t have it already.

Channel Energy: Hard as Rock

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Energy to make yourself hard as a rock to withstand upcoming harm.
When you are about to receive damage, you can use your reaction to get resistance to all damage except poison and psychic damage. Also if the attack would knock you prone or push you back instead you stay standing where you are.

Fist of the Mountain

At 6th level, when you deal bludgeoning damage to a Large or smaller creature, you can also push it up to 10 feet away from you.

Crushing Strike

At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with uncanny strength. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a bludgeoning weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 bludgeoning damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Endurance

At 17th level, you gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.

Air Domain

Clerics who make pacts with the denizens of the Plane of Air are perhaps the most misunderstood of all the elemental clerics. They are wanderers, diviners, travelers, and mystics.
Like the winds, their minds are constantly wandering, and they rarely seem focused on a current problem or situation. Some say that is because they are empowered by flighty patrons.
The single most important principle of the lords of the air and their initiates is freedom. They loathe restriction in their movements, personalities, beliefs, practices, and clothing, and they rebel against any attempts to impose limitations. This makes them enemies of all forms of bondage, and they are required do what they can to fight slavery whenever possible.

Air Domain Spells

Cleric Level

Spells

1st

feather fall, catapult*

3rd

gust of wind, warding wind*

5th

fly, wind wall

7th

freedom of movement, storm sphere*

9th

conjure elemental**, control winds*

11th

wind walk

13th

whirlwind*

15th

control weather

*This spells can be found in the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion.

**Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can summon only

air elementals with it.

Bonus Proficiency

At 1st level you gain proficiency with blowguns, hand crossbows and longbows.

Bonus Cantrip

When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain the gust* cantrip if you don’t have it already.

Channel Energy: Guided Projectile

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Energy to make a ranged attack with supernatural accuracy. When you make an attack roll with a ranged weapon, you can use your Channel Energy to gain a +10 bonus to the roll. You make this choice after you see the roll, but before the DM says whether the attack hits or misses.

Gust Wings

At 6th level, you can call upon whirling gusts of elemental air to lift you. You can use a bonus action to fly 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.

Razor Winds

At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your ranged attacks with razor winds. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a ranged weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 slashing damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Airborn

At 17th level, you have a flying speed equal to your current walking speed whenever you are not underground or indoors.

Fire Domain

The most feared and unpredictable of the Athasian clerics are those of the Elemental Plane of Fire. Some say these individuals become crazed during initiation, and others say that one must be insane to petition the destructive lords of flame in the first place. Whatever the reason for their erratic nature, fire clerics are the most powerful and the most destructive of the elemental priests.
Fire priests have earned their reputations for two reasons, they are very aggressive and very offensive. They will laugh maniacally while their enemies are incinerated, and they appear to thrive only when everything around them is being devoured by the fiery appetites of their patrons.

Fire Domain Spells

Cleric Level

Spells

1st

burning hands, searing strike

3rd

flaming sphere, heat metal

5th

fireball, Melf’s minute meteors*

7th

fire shield, wall of fire

9th

conjure elemental**, immolation*

11th

investiture of flame*

13th

firestorm

15th

incendiary cloud

*This spells can be found in the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion.

**Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can summon only

fire elementals with it.

Bonus Proficiency

At 1st level you gain proficiency with rapiers and shortswords.

Bonus Cantrips

When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain the create bonfire* and control flames* cantrips if you don’t have them already.

Channel Energy: Burning Wrath

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Energy to wield the power of the fire plane with unchecked ferocity.
When you roll fire damage, you can use your Channel Energy to deal maximum damage, instead of rolling.

Blazing Heart

At 6th level, you gain resistance to fire damage. Whenever you cast a spell other than a cantrip that deals fire damage, a fiery aura surrounds you. In addition to the spell’s effects, creatures of your choice within 10 feet of you take fire damage equal to half your cleric level.

Fiery Strike

At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with fire energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 fire damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Corona of Fire

Starting at 17th level, you can use your action to activate an aura of fire that lasts for 1 minute or until you dismiss it using another action. You emit bright light in a 60-foot radius and dim light 30 feet beyond that. Your enemies in the bright light have disadvantage on saving throws against any spell that deals fire damage.

Water Domain

The champions of the dying Plane of Water are few; their lords barely able to empower them. But those who underestimate them are mistaken, for although the champions of water are given less power than most, they are far more desperate, and far more vengeful.
Water is the giver of life, but the elemental lords now perform their sacred tasks grudgingly. Still, it is the duty of water clerics to give water and aid to any in need, of any alignment, of any nature. The only exceptions are those who criminally waste water. In this case, the water clerics are known to be meticulous in the cruelty of their vengeance. This specifically applies to defilers.

Water Domain Spells

Cleric Level

Spells

1st

create/destroy water, fog cloud

3rd

misty step, mirror image

5th

tidal wave*, water walk

7th

control water, watery sphere*

9th

conjure elemental**, maelstorm*

11th

blade barrier†

13th

mirage arcane

15th

tsunami

*This spells can be found in the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion.

**Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can summon only

water elementals with it.

†Blades are made of water.

Bonus Proficiency

At 1st level you gain proficiency in the Nature and Survival skills.

Natural Swimmer

Also at 1st level, you gain advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks you make to swim. And your swimming speed is equal to your normal speed.

Bonus Cantrip

When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain the shape water* cantrip if you don’t have it already.

Channel Energy: Healing Draft

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Energy to bless a small amount of water to infuse it with healing powers.
As a bonus action, you touch a small container filled with water and infuse it with healing energy. A creature drinking the water regains a number of hit points equal to five times your cleric level. The healing properties of the water last until your next turn.

Damp Skin

At 6th level, your connection to the elemental plane keeps your skin constantly damped.
You have resistance to acid damage and advantage on saving throws versus fire damage.
Also, since you are constantly hydrated, you only have to drink daily half the amount of water a regular person needs. And you have advantage on Constitution saving throws against dehydration.

Waterbreathing

Also at 6th level, you can breathe water as well as air.

Gift of the Water Lords

At 8th level, you gain an extra Channel Energy use between rests. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain this extra use.

Elixir of Life

Also at 8th level, you can use your Healing Draft to infuse the water with the effects of a revivify spell, instead of healing powers.

Supreme Healing

Starting at 17th level, when you would normally roll one or more dice to restore hit points with a spell, you instead use the highest number possible for each die. For example, instead of restoring 2d6 hit points to a creature, you restore 12.

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About Me

My name is Miguel Angel Espinoza. I'm a professional graphic designer and programmer; amateur comic book
artist and fiction writer. I've been playing RPGs since 1995. I'm
making my debut as a game designer with the Nahual RPG project, you can check it out at www.nahualrpg.com.